Why diets don't work.
Reason #1
One of my favourite foods is papaya. Obviously, it doesn't grow in NZ and the imported ones taste horrible. So when we went to Fiji, I made sure that I made the most of it. I ate at least 3 whole papaya every day. On our last day, I looked at my papaya and felt sick.
But ya know what?
I still ate it!
Why? Because when we "aren't allowed" or "can't have" a certain food, we want it more. And I knew it would be years before I got another papaya, so I ate it anyway. Even though just looking at it made me want to hurl.
It's the same when we diet. When we restrict our food intake and we tell ourselves that we are never going to eat *insert certain food items here* then we are:
a) more likely to want and crave that food b) more likely to eat that food, even if we don't want it c) more likely to binge on that food or eat that food in large amounts
Part of a healthy diet is including those favourite foods. If you allow yourself to eat them, when you want them, that food will become less desirable and hold less power over you. And, ya know what? You're less likely to eat it if its an "allowed food".